So somewhere along the way either through an article, friend, colleague, or video, it was brought to your attention that video content marketing is the way of the future. According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, “74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video”. Chances are you have thought over your own marketing video throughout your spare time and have come up with an idea for what the perfect video would look like, and the idea is just bursting out of your head because you are so excited to get it going. But before you create this baby, you need to backtrack slightly. Sit down and dedicate a solid hour of your time to clarify what the ideal video should do. Slow down and take some time to consider how the video is going to impact a viewer by clarifying a clear intent. This process should be painful or you are not doing it right. Use the following questions to guide your thought process.

What is the client’s need that this product fills?

It is easy to get carried away with features in our perfect expectation of a video, focusing primarily on the product or service we offer without considering the true need the product or service is filling. But if you want to make a great video, this is the first question you need to consider as well as how the video can convey the resolution of this need to the viewer. Ultimately, that is what you are selling. The product or service is merely a means of resolving a client’s need. Approaching the video from the client’s perspective will help the viewer relate to the overall message of the video.

How do you want the video to affect a viewer? What do you really want the viewer to do after viewing it?

You could have a great technical video, beautifully shot, perfect audio, great color, extremely informative, and amazing quality, but if the viewer can’t relate to the video, then the video will fail to inspire the result you are after. On the other hand, how many times have you seen a video that lacked in technical quality, but when you finished watching the entire video you reached for your wallet? Keep in mind, poor quality video is uploaded all day long online. Viewers are accustomed to watching poor quality videos while still receiving emotional value from the content portrayed. Which is quite opposite from the most hated videos which come across as commercials. Rather than strive for a goal of selling a product, aim to create an emotional investment in the product, service, or brand.

Does the video establish credibility?

Imagine going to a doctor, telling them you are sick and without asking your symptoms or checking your vital signs, they prescribe medicine. How confident would you be that whatever medicine they gave you is going to make you feel better? When is the last time you discussed your doctor’s credentials? Probably never. Based on the discussion with the doctor, you figure a normal person would not talk to me like this, they must know what they are talking about. Basically, you want the video to be believable. The best way to do this is to establish credibility. I am not saying a video must show credentials, I am just saying the content must pass the “sniff” test. If the viewer thinks it smells fishy, they won’t tell you why, they will just walk away. As you are considering what content to include, remember it is better that a message comes across genuine, rather than as a commercial.

Shift mindset from selling to showing

The field of dreams method of marketing has come and gone (and seriously should have never worked anyway). The “if you build it they will come mentality” doesn’t work when marketing to a generation of millennials that disdain being sold anything. When it comes to video content marketing, to make a video that impacts the viewer in a profound and thought out way, you need to connect with the viewer first, in order to inspire and motivate specific action. It is more effective to use an Inception technique: you need to go three levels deep, plant a seed, an idea, nurture that idea like you would a fragile plant and patiently wait for the fruits of your labor to develop their own roots. The largest mistake in creating a video is jumping straight to harvest when it is time to plow the field. Dedicating an appropriate amount of time to brainstorming and planning, when it comes to video content marketing, will be the most important step in creating a successful video campaign for your business that will inspire and motivate your clients and potential consumers. So if you don’t rush this process you will reap large dividends.